May I suggest an interesting read?
Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 6:50 am
I just finished reading the Italian edition of "Amedeo. A True Story of Love and War in Abyssinia" (ISBN : 8817870293) by Sebastian O'Kelly.
This book follows an older and less known "La Guerra Privata del Tenente Amedeo Guillet" (the private war of Lt. Amedeo Guillet) by Vittorio Dan Segre (1993).
This is not an "apologetic" Italian book on a National hero: If you ask in Italy "do you know Amedeo Guillet?" the most likely answer is "Who?[hno]".
Amedeo Guillet, born in 1909, son of an ancient Piedmontese family, graduated in Modena Military Academy. He was one of the most skilled Italian horsemen of its time and left the Italian Olimpic Team to participate to the Abyssinian war where he led a Lybian cavalry unit. Then he went to Spain and back to Italian East Africa where he led a native Cavalry group against the British forces at war outbreak.
He led a series of desperate charges against the Gazelle Force, then took part to the battle of Keren (those Commenwealth soldiers who fought both at Keren and Montecassino thought the former to be harder). After dissolution of the Italian "Empire" he kept on fighting for almost a year then escaped adventurously in Yemen.
In 1943 he managed to board a red cross ship and returned to Italy just before Sept. 8th and fought on on the Royalist side (i.e. the co-belligerent Italian Army) alongside many british officers who were formerly after him in Eritrea. After the war he started a diplomatic carreer which brought him back to Yemen, Syria Marocco and India, this part of his life has been also quite adventurous, and when in India he got casually as car driver a man who served in an Indian unit in East Africa and witnessed his charges at the Gazelle Force... Well, Amedeo is still alive and kicking, he retired in a green corner of Ireland where he kept riding regularly until very recent years (rumor has it that he still does, every now and then).
To me, a real must read!
P.S. The hardcover edition I have also contains a very interesting photographic section, I don't know if the paperback edition has it.
Luigi
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This book follows an older and less known "La Guerra Privata del Tenente Amedeo Guillet" (the private war of Lt. Amedeo Guillet) by Vittorio Dan Segre (1993).
This is not an "apologetic" Italian book on a National hero: If you ask in Italy "do you know Amedeo Guillet?" the most likely answer is "Who?[hno]".
Amedeo Guillet, born in 1909, son of an ancient Piedmontese family, graduated in Modena Military Academy. He was one of the most skilled Italian horsemen of its time and left the Italian Olimpic Team to participate to the Abyssinian war where he led a Lybian cavalry unit. Then he went to Spain and back to Italian East Africa where he led a native Cavalry group against the British forces at war outbreak.
He led a series of desperate charges against the Gazelle Force, then took part to the battle of Keren (those Commenwealth soldiers who fought both at Keren and Montecassino thought the former to be harder). After dissolution of the Italian "Empire" he kept on fighting for almost a year then escaped adventurously in Yemen.
In 1943 he managed to board a red cross ship and returned to Italy just before Sept. 8th and fought on on the Royalist side (i.e. the co-belligerent Italian Army) alongside many british officers who were formerly after him in Eritrea. After the war he started a diplomatic carreer which brought him back to Yemen, Syria Marocco and India, this part of his life has been also quite adventurous, and when in India he got casually as car driver a man who served in an Indian unit in East Africa and witnessed his charges at the Gazelle Force... Well, Amedeo is still alive and kicking, he retired in a green corner of Ireland where he kept riding regularly until very recent years (rumor has it that he still does, every now and then).
To me, a real must read!
P.S. The hardcover edition I have also contains a very interesting photographic section, I don't know if the paperback edition has it.
Luigi
------------------